Performing a reliable broadcast to a plurality of nodes

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to performing a reliable broadcast from a source device to a plurality of nodes. In an aspect, a representative node establishes a first wireless communication link with each of one or more non-representative nodes, receives, from each of the one or more non-representative nodes, information indicating an ability of the one or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications, establishes a second wireless communication link with the source device, configures the second wireless link based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes, sends control information for the second wireless communication link to each of the one or more non-representative nodes, and receives communications from the source device over the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or more non-representative nodes sniff the communications on the second wireless communication link based on the control information for that link.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The various aspects described herein generally relate to wirelesscommunications, and in particular, to performing a reliable broadcast toa plurality of nodes.

BACKGROUND

The Internet of Things (IoT) is based on the idea that everyday objects,not just computers and computer networks, can be read, recognized,located, addressed, and otherwise controlled via an IoT communicationsnetwork (e.g., an ad hoc system or the Internet). A group of IoT devicesmay form a wireless ad hoc network to provide additional functionality(e.g., a group of individual speakers that collectively provide“surround sound”). A wireless ad hoc network (referred to as a WANET) isa decentralized type of wireless network that does not rely onpre-existing infrastructure, such access points or base stations.Instead, each node communicates directly with other nodes, often using apeer-to-peer (P2P) (also referred to as a machine-to-machine (M2M) ordevice-to-device (D2D)) communication protocol over a short-rangewireless network, such as Bluetooth® (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE),Bluetooth® Long Range (BLR), Bluetooth® Classic), ZigBee®, WirelessUniversal Serial Bus (USB), Z-Wave®, IEEE 802.15.4 (15.4), Long-TermEvolution Direct (LTE-D), and the like.

In some cases, a single node may broadcast a data stream to theremaining nodes of the ad hoc network. For example, an audio device(e.g., a smartphone, an MP3 player, a compact disc (CD) player, etc.)may broadcast an audio stream to a plurality of IoT speakers to beplayed by the plurality of IoT speakers. However, such a broadcast maybe unreliable because the data flow is uni-directional (from source totarget(s)) and as such, there may be no indication of whether or not allthe nodes received all of the data. There are protocols to address thisdrawback, such as repeated broadcasts, relay retransmissions (i.e., thetransmission of packets from one target node to another target node),acknowledgment (ACK) mechanisms, or P2P transmission to all the nodes inthe ad hoc network. However, such methods suffer from both network andenergy inefficiencies.

Accordingly, there exists a need to develop devices, apparatus, andmethods to improve broadcasting in a wireless ad hoc network.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or moreaspects disclosed herein. As such, the following summary should not beconsidered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects,nor should the following summary be regarded to identify key or criticalelements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scopeassociated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the followingsummary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to oneor more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in asimplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

In an aspect, a method of performing a reliable broadcast from a sourcedevice to a plurality of nodes includes establishing, by arepresentative node of the plurality of nodes, a first wirelesscommunication link with each of one or more non-representative nodes ofthe plurality of nodes, receiving, at the representative node from eachof the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding firstwireless communication link, information indicating an ability of theone or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications,establishing, by the representative node, a second wirelesscommunication link with the source device configuring, by therepresentative node, the second wireless link based on the informationreceived from the one or more non-representative nodes, sending, by therepresentative node, control information for the second wirelesscommunication link to each of the one or more non-representative nodesover the corresponding first wireless communication link, and receiving,at the representative node, communications from the source device overthe second wireless communication link, wherein the one or morenon-representative nodes receive the communications from the sourcedevice by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on thecontrol information for the second wireless communication link.

In an aspect, an apparatus for performing a reliable broadcast from asource device to a plurality of nodes includes a transceiver of arepresentative node of the plurality of nodes, and at least oneprocessor of the representative node coupled to the transceiver, the atleast one processor configured to: establish a first wirelesscommunication link with each of one or more non-representative nodes ofthe plurality of nodes, receive, from each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link, information indicating an ability of the one or morenon-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications, establish asecond wireless communication link with the source device, configure thesecond wireless link based on the information received from the one ormore non-representative nodes, send control information for the secondwireless communication link to each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link, and receive communications from the source deviceover the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or morenon-representative nodes receive the communications from the sourcedevice by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on thecontrol information for the second wireless communication link.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions for performing a reliable broadcastfrom a source device to a plurality of nodes includescomputer-executable instructions comprising: at least one instructioninstructing a representative node of the plurality of nodes to establisha first wireless communication link with each of one or morenon-representative nodes of the plurality of nodes, at least oneinstruction instructing the representative node to receive, from each ofthe one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding firstwireless communication link, information indicating an ability of theone or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications,at least one instruction instructing the representative node toestablish a second wireless communication link with the source device,at least one instruction instructing the representative node toconfigure the second wireless link based on the information receivedfrom the one or more non-representative nodes, at least one instructioninstructing the representative node to send control information for thesecond wireless communication link to each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link, and at least one instruction instructing therepresentative node to receive communications from the source deviceover the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or morenon-representative nodes receive the communications from the sourcedevice by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on thecontrol information for the second wireless communication link.

In an aspect, an apparatus for performing a reliable broadcast from asource device to a plurality of nodes includes a means for communicatingof a representative node of the plurality of nodes, and a means forprocessing of the representative node coupled to the means forcommunicating, the means for processing configured to: establish a firstwireless communication link with each of one or more non-representativenodes of the plurality of nodes, receive, from each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link, information indicating an ability of the one or morenon-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications, establish asecond wireless communication link with the source device, configure thesecond wireless link based on the information received from the one ormore non-representative nodes, send control information for the secondwireless communication link to each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link, and receive communications from the source deviceover the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or morenon-representative nodes receive the communications from the sourcedevice by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on thecontrol information for the second wireless communication link.

Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosedherein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on theaccompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description ofvarious aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely forillustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless ad hoc network in which thevarious aspects described herein may be suitably implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary wireless ad hoc network in which thevarious aspects described herein may be suitably implemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates a specific example of a wireless ad hoc network inwhich the various aspects described herein may be suitably implemented.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary method for performing a reliablebroadcast from a source device to a plurality of nodes according tovarious aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary device configured as a mesh network nodein accordance with the various aspects described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosure generally relates to performing a reliable broadcast froma source device to a plurality of nodes. In an aspect, a representativenode of the plurality of nodes establishes a first wirelesscommunication link with each of one or more non-representative nodes ofthe plurality of nodes, receives, from each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link, information indicating an ability of the one or morenon-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications, establishes asecond wireless communication link with the source device, configuresthe second wireless link based on the information received from the oneor more non-representative nodes, sends control information for thesecond wireless communication link to each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link, and receives communications from the source deviceover the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or morenon-representative nodes receive the communications from the sourcedevice by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on thecontrol information for the second wireless communication link.

These and other aspects of the disclosure are provided in the followingdescription and related drawings directed to various examples providedfor illustration purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-knownaspects of the disclosure may not be described in detail or may beomitted so as not to obscure more relevant details.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

The terminology used herein describes particular aspects only and shouldnot be construed to limit any aspects disclosed herein. As used herein,the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include theplural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.Those skilled in the art will further understand that the terms“comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” as usedherein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Further, various aspects may be described in terms of sequences ofactions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device.Those skilled in the art will recognize that various actions describedherein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions beingexecuted by one or more processors, or by a combination of both.Additionally, these sequences of actions described herein can beconsidered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having stored thereon a corresponding set ofcomputer instructions that upon execution would cause an associatedprocessor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, thevarious aspects described herein may be embodied in a number ofdifferent forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within thescope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of theaspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects maybe described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” and/or otherstructural components configured to perform the described action.

As used herein, the terms “node,” “user device,” “user equipment” (or“UE”), “user terminal,” “client device,” “communication device,”“wireless device,” “wireless communications device,” “handheld device,”“mobile device,” “mobile terminal,” “mobile station,” “handset,” “accessterminal,” “subscriber device,” “subscriber terminal,” “subscriberstation,” “terminal,” and variants thereof may interchangeably refer toany suitable mobile or stationary device. Accordingly, theabove-mentioned terms may suitably refer to any one or all of cellulartelephones, smart phones, personal or mobile multimedia players,personal data assistants, laptop computers, personal computers, tabletcomputers, smart books, palm-top computers, wireless electronic mailreceivers, multimedia Internet-enabled cellular telephones, wirelessgaming controllers, IoT devices, and similar devices with a programmableprocessor, memory, and circuitry to connect to and communicate over aradio access network (RAN) that implements a particular radio accesstechnology (RAT), over a wireless local area network (WLAN) (e.g., basedon IEEE 802.11, etc.), and/or with other devices via a D2D or P2Pconnection (e.g., a Bluetooth® connection).

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless ad hoc network 100 in which thevarious aspects described herein may be suitably implemented. Moreparticularly, the example wireless ad hoc network 100 may comprise agroup or cluster 112 of various proximate (e.g., separated by inches tofeet) nodes 110 and a source device 120. In general, the nodes 110 maybe the basic building blocks of the wireless ad hoc network 100, whereinthe nodes 110 may comprise any suitable device that can be configured toreceive and send messages from and to the source node 120. In variousaspects, message communication from the source node 120 to the nodes 110may generally be based on broadcast, or point-to-multipoint, messages,which may be transmitted via one or more wireless channels. For example,the source device 120 may be configured to broadcast data to the nodes110 over a wireless broadcast communication link 122. Messagecommunication from each node 110 in the cluster 112 to the source nodemay generally be based on point-to-point messages, which may betransmitted via one or more wireless channels. For example, each node110 in the cluster 112 may send messages (e.g., acknowledgments (ACKs),negative acknowledgments (NACKs)) to the source node 120 over differentwireless point-to-point communication links 102. More specifically, eachnode 110 may establish its own wireless point-to-point communicationlinks 102 with the source node 120 in order to provide feedback to thesource node 120.

The nodes 110 and the source device 120 may be configured to communicatewith one another via a wireless communication protocol, such asBluetooth® (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), Bluetooth® Long Range(BLR), Bluetooth® Classic), ZigBee®, Wireless Universal Serial Bus(USB), Z-Wave®, IEEE 802.15.4 (15.4), Long-Term Evolution Direct(LTE-D), and the like, which generally enable devices to send, receive,and relay messages to surrounding devices located within radio range,thus forming a wireless ad hoc network. For example, messagecommunication may be based on broadcast messages transmitted andreceived via one or more wireless channels (e.g., a Bluetooth® broadcastchannel). As such, the wireless communication protocol may enable thewireless ad hoc network 100 to be easily extended to accommodate newdevices (e.g., new nodes 110). The wireless communication protocol cantherefore be used to support various different use cases that are built,at least in part, on point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, and/or othersuitable wireless communications.

In an aspect, the source device 120 may broadcast a data stream to theremaining nodes 110 of the wireless ad hoc network 100. For example, thesource device 120 may be an audio device (e.g., a smartphone, an MP3player, a compact disc (CD) player, etc.) and the nodes 110 may be aplurality of IoT speakers that together provide a “surround sound” audiosystem. As noted above, simply broadcasting a data stream (e.g., overwireless broadcast communication link 122) may be unreliable because thedata flow is uni-directional and as such, there may be no indication ofwhether or not all of the nodes received all of the data. There areprotocols to address this drawback, such as repeated broadcasts, relayretransmissions (i.e., the transmission of packets from one target nodeto another target node), ACK mechanisms (e.g., over wirelesspoint-to-point communication links 102), or P2P transmission to all thenodes in the wireless ad hoc network 100. However, such methods sufferfrom both network and energy inefficiencies.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a mechanism for thereliable broadcast of data from a source device (e.g., the source device120) to a cluster of devices (e.g., group 112) without the above-notedinefficiencies.

A cluster of target nodes having a proximity to each other of inches tofeet (e.g., in the same room) are likely to have very similar wirelessenvironment conditions (e.g., received signal strength indicator (RSSI),Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), etc.). For example, where a smart phone ormedia player broadcasts an audio stream to left and right wirelessheadset speakers, the wireless headset speakers are likely to haveessentially the same wireless environment conditions given their closeproximity to each other. As another example, a media player maybroadcast an audio stream to a plurality of IoT speakers in a room thattogether provide a “surround sound” audio system within the room. Thedisclosed broadcast mechanism capitalizes on this observation.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary wireless ad hoc network 200 in which thevarious aspects described herein may be suitably implemented. Similar tothe example wireless ad hoc network 100 in FIG. 1, the wireless ad hocnetwork 200 includes a group or cluster 212 of various proximate (e.g.,separated by inches to feet) target nodes 210A and 210B (collectivelyreferred to as target node(s) 210 or simply node(s) 210) and a sourcedevice 220 (which may correspond to nodes 110 and source device 120,respectively, in FIG. 1). For a broadcast from the source device 220 tothe cluster 212 of proximate target nodes 210, a representative node210A can be selected and can establish a reliable wirelesspoint-to-point communication link 222 with the source device 220. Notethat either the representative node 210A or the source device 220 caninitiate establishment of the wireless point-to-point communication link222, but they both perform operations to establish the wirelesspoint-to-point communication link 222, as is known in the art. In anaspect, the wireless point-to-point communication link 222 may be areliable (low-energy) secure encrypted wireless point-to-pointcommunication link, such as a Basic Rate (BR)/Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) Bluetooth® link. Then,instead of the source device 220 broadcasting to all of the nodes 210 inthe cluster 212 (as over the wireless broadcast communication link 122in FIG. 1), the source device 220 transmits the data that would havebeen broadcasted to all of the nodes 210 to only the representative node210A over the wireless point-to-point communication link 222.

When establishing the wireless point-to-point communication link 222,the representative node 210A tunes its receiver sensitivity to berepresentative of the receiver sensitivities of the remaining, ornon-representative, nodes 210B in the cluster 212. The representativenode 210A may also direct the source device 220 to adjust itstransmitter power such that all nodes 210 in the cluster 212 will beable to reliably receive/sniff any data transmitted by the source device220. Initially, the representative node 210A may simply tune itsreceiver sensitivity as appropriate for itself and then, based onsubsequently received feedback from the non-representative nodes 210B(as described further below), tune its receiver sensitivity to berepresentative of the receiver sensitivities of the non-representativenodes 210B. Similarly, the representative node 210A may initially directthe source device 220 to adjust its transmitter power as appropriate forthe representative node 210A and then, based on the feedback from thenon-representative nodes 210B, direct the source device 220 to adjustits transmitter power such that all nodes 210 in the cluster 212 will beable to reliably receive any data transmitted by the source device 220.

Once the wireless point-to-point communication link 222 has beenestablished, the representative node 210A sends control information forthe wireless point-to-point communication link 222 to the remainingnodes 210B. In that way, when the source device 220 transmits data tothe representative node 210A over the wireless point-to-pointcommunication link 222, the remaining nodes 210B are able to “sniff” thewireless point-to-point communication link 222 and decode the data sentto the representative node 210A. In that way, all of the target nodes210 in the cluster 212 will reliably receive the data transmitted to therepresentative node 210A over the wireless point-to-point communicationlink 222 that would have otherwise been broadcasted to all of the nodes210. Only the representative node 210A ACKs the transmitted data orotherwise communicates with the source device 220; thenon-representative nodes 210B are assumed to have received thetransmitted data if the representative node 210A receives it.

To act as the representative node 210A for the cluster 212, therepresentative node 210A collects information indicating the ability tosniff wireless communications between the representative node 210A andthe source device 220 from the non-representative nodes 210B. Forexample, the representative node 210A may collect the remaining nodes'210B receiver sensitivities, RSSIs, SNRs, and the like. In an aspect,the representative node 210A may collect this information beforeestablishing the wireless point-to-point communication link 222 with thesource device 220, which would enable the representative node 210A totune its receiver sensitivity, for example, to be representative of allof the nodes 210 in the cluster 212 when establishing the wirelesspoint-to-point communication link 222. Additionally, after the sourcedevice 220 starts transmitting over the wireless point-to-pointcommunication link 222 and the non-representative nodes 210B have achance to “sniff” the wireless point-to-point communication link 222,the non-representative nodes 210B can provide this information to therepresentative node 210A as feedback on their ability to receive thecommunications transmitted over the wireless point-to-pointcommunication link 222. The representative node 210A can then adjust itsreceiver sensitivity, for example, to be representative of all of thenodes 210 in the cluster 212, and/or request the source device 220 totune its transmitter power to be high enough that any transmitted datawill be reliably received/sniffed by all of the nodes 210 in the cluster212.

The representative node 210A may communicate with each of thenon-representative nodes 210B in the cluster 212 over different wirelesspoint-to-point communication links 202 than the wireless point-to-pointcommunication link 222 between the source device 220 and therepresentative node 210A. For example, the representative node 210A mayestablish a different (e.g., differently configured) BLE link to each ofthe non-representative nodes 210B in the cluster 212, and can receivethe non-representative nodes 210B receiver sensitivities, RSSIs, SNRs,and the like over these links. Note that either the representative node210A or the non-representative node 210B can initiate establishment ofthe wireless point-to-point communication link 202, but they bothperform operations to establish the wireless point-to-pointcommunication link 202, as is known in the art.

The representative node 210A also communicates the control information(all of the control information or less than all, depending on thesituation) for the wireless point-to-point communication link 222 withthe source device 220 to the non-representative nodes 210B over thewireless point-to-point communication links 202, thereby enabling thenon-representative nodes 210B to sniff the wireless point-to-pointcommunication link 222. When there are any new control parameters forthe wireless point-to-point communication link 222, the representativenode 210A does not communicate with the source device 220 over thewireless point-to-point communication link 222 until after it sends thenew control parameters for the wireless point-to-point communicationlink 222 to the non-representative nodes 210B over the wirelesspoint-to-point communication links 202.

The representative node 210A is chosen from among the nodes 210 in thecluster 212. The representative node 210A may be chosen based on batterylevel (e.g., the node 210 with the highest battery level in the cluster212), physical location (e.g., a central node 210 in the cluster 212),wireless environment conditions (e.g., the node 210 with the worstwireless environment conditions in the cluster 212), or any combinationthereof. Alternatively, the representative node 210A could be chosenrandomly, and/or each node 210 in the cluster 212 can take a turn beingthe representative node 210A. Also, in an aspect, the source device 220may be a node of the cluster 212, and a node 210 in the cluster 212 mayat times act as the source device 220, at other times as therepresentative node 210A, and at other times as a non-representativenode 210B. These changes in roles can be coordinated over the wirelesscommunication link(s) between the source device 220 and the nodes 210 ofthe cluster 212.

In an aspect, to determine whether the nodes 210 in the cluster 212 aresufficiently proximate to each other to use the broadcast mechanismdisclosed herein, the nodes 210 may compare their wireless environmentconditions. If the wireless environment conditions are sufficientlysimilar that a single node 210 would be able to represent each node 210in the cluster 212, then a representative node 210A is chosen and thebroadcast mechanism disclosed herein can be employed. In that way,although nodes 210 that are located within centimeters to meters of eachother are most likely to be able to use the broadcast mechanismdisclosed herein, nodes 210 that are further apart, but still withinwireless communication range of each other, may also be able to use thedisclosed broadcast mechanism if the wireless environment conditions aresufficiently similar.

In some cases, although not illustrated, a single node 210 may be ableto represent most but not all of the nodes 210 of the cluster 212. Forexample, one or more of the nodes 210 may be close to an access pointfor another RAT (e.g., a WiFi access point), which could significantlyaffect that node's wireless environment conditions. In that case, arepresentative node 210A could be chosen to represent all of the nodes210 of the group except one or more outlier node(s) 210, and the outliernode(s) 210 could establish their own wireless point-to-pointcommunication link with the source device 220, or select a differentrepresentative node.

As will be appreciated, because only the representative node 210Acommunicates with the source device 220 over the wireless point-to-pointcommunication link 222 (and therefore only the representative node 210AACKs the transmissions from the source device 220) and does not relaythe transmissions from the source device 220 (but rather, thenon-representative nodes 210B “sniff” the transmissions on the wirelesspoint-to-point communication link 222), the proposed mechanism improvesboth bandwidth and energy use in the wireless ad hoc network 200.Additionally, because the representative node 210A is tuned to receivedata over the wireless point-to-point communication link 222 in such away that it is the most likely node 210 in the cluster 212 to miss apacket, the proposed mechanism provides a reliable way to broadcast to acluster 212 of proximate (e.g., in the same room) target nodes 210without the need for repeated transmissions or relay transmissions.

FIG. 3 illustrates a specific example of a wireless ad hoc network 300in which the various aspects described herein may be suitablyimplemented. The wireless ad hoc network 300 includes a source device320 (which may correspond to the source device 220 in FIG. 2) and acluster of three target nodes 310A, 310B, and 310C, collectivelyreferred to as target nodes 310, or simply nodes 310, and which maycorrespond to the representative node 210A and two non-representativenodes 210B in FIG. 2. In the example of FIG. 3, while the source device320 is illustrated as a smartphone and the target nodes 310 areillustrated as speakers (e.g., of a surround sound system), as will beappreciated, the disclosure is not so limited. In addition, while onlythree target nodes 310 are illustrated, as will be appreciated, theremay be more or fewer than three target nodes 310.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a control link 302A (which may correspond tothe wireless point-to-point communication link 202 in FIG. 2) isestablished between target nodes 310A and 310B, a control link 302B(which may correspond to the wireless point-to-point communication link202 in FIG. 2) is established between target nodes 310A and 310C, and a“primary” link 322 (which may correspond to the wireless point-to-pointcommunication link 222 in FIG. 2) is established between the sourcedevice 320 and the target node 310A. The target node 310A is therepresentative node and is referred to as the “primary speaker” or the“primary target node.” The control links 302A and 302B may be wireless(low-energy) point-to-point communication links, such as BLE links. Theprimary link 322 may be a reliable (low-energy) secure encryptedwireless point-to-point communication link, such as a Basic Rate(BR)/Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)Bluetooth® link. In the example of FIG. 3, the source device 320transmits audio data over the primary link 322 to the primary targetnode 310A.

The primary target node 310A uses the control links 302A and 302B toshare the transport information (e.g., frequency hopping spread (FHS),modulation scheme, channel map, etc.), audio information (e.g., codecinformation, volume, etc.), and the security information (e.g., theencryption key) for the primary link 322 with the “secondary” targetnodes 310B and 310C. The shared transport and security information(referred to collectively as the “control” information) enables thesecondary target nodes 310B and 310C to listen to and decode (i.e.,“sniff”) the traffic on the primary link 322. This creates virtual links312A and 312B between the source device 320 and the secondary targetnodes 310B and 310C. For reliability of the virtual links 312A and 312B,the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C use the control links 302A and302B to inform the primary target node 310A regarding a suitablereceiver configuration for the primary target node 310, a suitableconfiguration for the transmitter of the source device 320, and/or thesecondary target nodes' 310B and 310C channel maps, as described furtherbelow.

Because the three target nodes 310 are in close proximity to each other(e.g., within inches to feet because, in the example of FIG. 3, they arewireless speakers), as noted above, their wireless environmentconditions will likely be very similar. In general, this will make thevirtual links 312A and 312B reliable links. That is, either the datafrom the source device 320 to the primary target node 310A over theprimary link 322 and sniffed by the secondary target nodes 310B and 310Cwill be correctly received by all target nodes 310, or all will miss it.

However, the reliability of the virtual links 312A and 312B can befurther increased by taking into account the ability of the secondarytarget nodes 310B and 310C to sniff wireless communications on theprimary link 322. In an aspect, the secondary target nodes 310B and 310Ccan periodically (i.e., at fixed intervals) share their RSSI and/or SNRvalues with the primary target node 310A over the control links 302A and302B. The primary target node 310A can then adjust its receiversensitivity to ensure that if a packet is missed by either of thesecondary target nodes 310B and 310C, it is also highly likely to bemissed by the primary target node 310A. The primary target node 310A canalso cause the source device 320 to adjust its transmitter power basedon the RSSI/SNR of the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C, as well asits own RSSI/SNR.

In an aspect, the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C can also sharetheir channel maps with the primary target node 310A, and the primarytarget node 310A can consider these channel maps when determining whichchannel to use when communicating with the source device 320. Morespecifically, secondary target nodes 310B and 310C can share, with theprimary target node 310A, their channel assessment information(represented as channel maps) regarding which channels are suitable foruse and which channels are not suitable for use by the secondary targetnodes 310B and 310C. The primary target node 310A also performs its ownchannel assessment to determine which channels are suitable andunsuitable for use by the primary target node 310A. Based on the channelassessment information/channel map from secondary target nodes 310B and310C and its own channel assessment/channel map, the primary target node310A can request/command communication with the source device 320 overthe channel(s) that are suitable for both the primary target node 310Aand the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C. Until a new channel map iseffective, the primary target node 310A can optionally choose not tolisten on bad frequencies (i.e., unsuitable channels) indicated by thesecondary target nodes 310A and 310B, or alternatively, lower itsreceiver sensitivity further for those frequencies.

In another aspect, to further increase reliability, when a secondarytarget node 310B or 310C misses a packet but successfully receives theheader for the packet, it can transmit a NACK at a higher transmit powerto corrupt any ACK from the primary target node 310A to the sourcedevice 320. If the secondary target node 310B/310C successfully blocksthe ACK from the primary target node 310A, the source device 320 willretransmit the missed packet. If, however, there is no retransmission ofthe missed packet, the secondary target node 310B/310C can choose to bea silent player (where the data comprises audio data) for that packet.

Generally, it can be assumed that the secondary target nodes 310B and310C will not be participating in any wireless communication activityother than the activity on the primary link 322 (i.e., sniffing theprimary link 322) and the control links 302A and 302B. However, if forsome reason (e.g., periodic band scan, periodic trim scan, etc.) asecondary target node 310B and/or 310C cannot listen to/sniff thetraffic on the primary link 322, then it can notify the primary targetnode 310A of its absence over the control link 302A/302B. The secondarytarget node 310B/310C can notify the primary target node 310A of itsabsence in advance (e.g., by sending its periodic band scan schedule) orat the time it stops listening to/sniffing the primary link 322. Thesecondary target node 310B/310C can also inform the primary target node310A of how long it will not be listening to the primary link 322, orsimply notify the primary target node 310A when it starts listening tothe primary link 322 again.

In response to the notification from the secondary target node310B/310C, the primary target node 310A can also stop listening to theprimary link 322 until the time at which the secondary target node310B/310C is scheduled to start listening to the primary link 322 again,or until it receives a notification from the secondary target node310B/310C that it is again listening to the primary link 322. Where theprimary target node 310A ACKs each packet received from the sourcedevice 320 over the primary link 322, this will result in the sourcedevice 320 automatically retransmitting any packets transmitted duringthe time that the target nodes 310A and 310B/310C are not listening tothe primary link 322 because the primary target node 310A will not haveACKed them. Alternatively, rather than not listening to the primary link322, the primary target node 310A can send negative acknowledgments(NACKs) to the source device 320 for any data sent over the primary link322 until the secondary target node 310B/310C begins sniffing theprimary link 322 again. This will cause the source device 320 toretransmit the missed packet(s) until the secondary target node310B/310C begins sniffing the primary link 322 again.

As briefly described above, the primary target node 310A uses thecontrol links 302A and 302B to share the transport information for theprimary link 322 with the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C. Thetransport information for the primary link 322, such as a change in theadaptive frequency hopping (AFH) channel map, modulation scheme, packettype, etc., is important information that the secondary target nodes310B and 310C should receive, even though it rarely changes.Accordingly, the primary target node 310A should preferably share thisinformation with the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C before anysuch change becomes effective on the primary link 322.

Some control information, however, such as a packet type change or amaximum slot change, is effective immediately. For such immediatecontrol information changes, the primary target node 310A shouldimmediately (or as soon as possible, e.g., at the first opportunity)inform the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C over the control links302A and 302B before participating in any further communications withthe source device 320 over the primary link 322.

As also briefly described above, the primary target node 310A uses thecontrol links 302A and 302B to share the security information (e.g., theencryption key) for the primary link 322 with the secondary target nodes310B and 310C. Because the encryption key for the primary link 322 isshared with the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C over the controllink 302, the secondary target nodes 310B and 310C will be able todecrypt the traffic on the primary link 322 without issue. However,because there are rare situations in which a secondary target node 310Band/or 310C can miss packets, the secondary target nodes 310B and 310Cdo not verify the message integrity check (MIC) (where the primary link322 is a Bluetooth® link).

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary method 400 for performing a reliablebroadcast from a source device (e.g., source device 220 or 320) to aplurality of nodes (e.g., nodes 210 or 310) according to various aspectsof the disclosure. The method 400 may be performed by a representativenode (e.g., representative node 210A or 310A) of the plurality of nodes.

At 410, the representative node (e.g., a transceiver/receiver of therepresentative node) establishes a first wireless communication link(e.g., wireless point-to-point communication link 202 or control link302A/302B) with each of one or more non- representative nodes (e.g.,non-representative nodes 210B or secondary target nodes 310B and/or310C) of the plurality of nodes (e.g., cluster 212).

At 420, the representative node (e.g., a transceiver/receiver of therepresentative node) receives, from each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link, information indicating an ability of the one or morenon-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications. In an aspect,the information received from the one or more non-representative nodesmay include a receiver sensitivity of each of the one or morenon-representative nodes, an RSSI level of each of the one or morenon-representative nodes, a channel map (e.g., AFH channel map) of eachof the one or more non-representative nodes, or any combination thereof.In an aspect, the representative node may receive this informationbefore the remaining operations of the method 400, periodically, and/orin response to a change in this information at at least one of the oneor more non-representative nodes significant enough to impact thatnode's ability to sniff wireless communications from the source node.

At 430, the representative node (e.g., a processing system of therepresentative node in conjunction with the transceiver of therepresentative node) establishes a second wireless communication link(e.g., wireless point-to-point communication link 222 or primary link322) with the source device.

At 440, the representative node (e.g., a processing system of therepresentative node in conjunction with the transceiver of therepresentative node) configures the second wireless link based on theinformation received from the one or more non-representative nodes. Inan aspect, configuring the second wireless link may include therepresentative node configuring its transceiver/receiver to berepresentative of the plurality of nodes based on the informationreceived from the one or more non-representative nodes, and/orrequesting the source device to configure its transmitter based on theinformation received from the one or more non-representative nodes.

At 450, the representative node (e.g., a processing system of therepresentative node in conjunction with the transceiver/transmitter ofthe representative node) sends control information for the secondwireless communication link to each of the one or morenon-representative nodes over the corresponding first wirelesscommunication link.

At 460, the representative node (e.g., a processing system of therepresentative node and/or the transceiver/receiver of therepresentative node) receives communications from the source device overthe second wireless communication link. In an aspect, the one or morenon-representative nodes receive the communications from the sourcedevice by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on thecontrol information for the second wireless communication link.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary wireless device 500 that can beappropriately configured as a node of a wireless ad hoc network (e.g.,wireless ad hoc network 100, 200, and/or 300) in accordance with thevarious aspects described herein. For example, the wireless device 500may correspond to a source device (e.g., source device 120, 220, and/or320), a representative node (e.g., representative node 210A and/or 310A)or a non-representative node (non-representative node 210B and/or 310B)that may be configured to communicate with other nodes in a wireless adhoc network as described herein.

In various aspects, the wireless device 500 can include a processor 504,a memory 506, a housing 508, a transmitter 510, a receiver 512, anantenna 516, a signal detector 518, a digital signal processor (DSP)520, a user interface 522, and a bus system 524. Alternatively, thefunctions of the transmitter 510 and the receiver 512 can beincorporated into a transceiver 514. The wireless device 500 can beconfigured to communicate in a wireless network that includes, forexample, a base station (not illustrated), an access point (notillustrated), or the like.

In various aspects, the processor 504 can be configured to controloperations of the wireless device 500. The processor 504 can also bereferred to as a central processing unit (CPU). The memory 506 can becoupled to the processor 504, can be in communication with the processor504, and can provide instructions and data to the processor 504. Theprocessor 504 can perform logical and arithmetic operations based onprogram instructions stored within the memory 506. The instructions inthe memory 506 can be executable to cause the processor 504 and/or thetransceiver 514 to perform one or more of the methods and processesdescribed herein, such as the method 400 illustrated in FIG. 4. Invarious aspects, the processor 504 can include, or be a component of, aprocessing system implemented with one or more processors. The one ormore processors can be implemented with any combination ofgeneral-purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), field programmable gate array (FPGAs), programmablelogic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gated logic, discretehardware components, dedicated hardware finite state machines, or anyother suitable entities that can perform calculations and/or manipulateinformation. The processing system can also include machine-readablemedia for storing software. Software can be construed broadly to meanany type of instructions, whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.Instructions can include code, e.g., in source code format, binary codeformat, executable code format, or any other suitable format of code.The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, can causethe processing system to perform one or more of the functions describedherein.

In various aspects, the memory 506 can include both read-only memory(ROM) and random access memory (RAM). A portion of the memory 506 canalso include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

In various aspects, the transmitter 510 and the receiver 512 (or thetransceiver 514) can allow transmission and reception of data betweenthe wireless device 500 and a remote location. The antenna 516 can beattached to the housing 508 and be electrically coupled to thetransceiver 514. In some implementations, the wireless device 500 canalso include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multipletransceivers, and/or multiple antennas (not illustrated).

In various aspects, the signal detector 518 can be used to detect andquantify the level of signals received by the transceiver 514. Thesignal detector 518 can detect such signals as total energy, energy persubcarrier per symbol, and/or power spectral density and in other ways.

In various aspects, the DSP 520 can be used to process signals. The DSP520 can be configured to generate a packet for transmission. In someaspects, the packet can include a physical layer data unit (PPDU).

In various aspects, the user interface 522 can include, for example, akeypad, a microphone, a speaker, and/or a display. The user interface522 can include any element or component that conveys information to auser of the wireless device 500 and/or receives input from a user.

In various aspects, the various components of the wireless device 500can be coupled together by a bus system 524. The bus system 524 caninclude a data bus, and can also include a power bus, a control signalbus, and/or a status signal bus in addition to the data bus.

In various aspects, the wireless device 500 can also include othercomponents or elements not illustrated in FIG. 5. One or more of thecomponents of the wireless device 500 can be in communication withanother one or more components of the wireless device 500 by means ofanother communication channel (not illustrated) to provide, for example,an input signal to the other component.

Although a number of separate components are illustrated in FIG. 5, oneor more of the components can be combined or commonly implemented. Forexample, the processor 504 and the memory 506 can be embodied on asingle chip. The processor 504 can additionally, or in the alternative,contain memory, such as processor registers. Similarly, one or more ofthe functional blocks or portions of the functionality of various blockscan be embodied on a single chip. Alternatively, the functionality of aparticular block can be implemented on two or more chips. For example,the processor 504 can be used to implement not only the functionalitydescribed above with respect to the processor 504, but also to implementthe functionality described above with respect to the signal detector518 and/or the DSP 520.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted to departfrom the scope of the various aspects described herein.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processormay be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may beany conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The methods, sequences, and/or algorithms described in connection withthe aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM, flash memory, ROM, electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removabledisk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of non-transitory computer-readablemedium known in the art. An exemplary non-transitory computer-readablemedium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can readinformation from, and write information to, the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. In the alternative, the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may be integral to the processor. The processorand the non-transitory computer-readable medium may reside in an ASIC.The ASIC may reside in an IoT device. In the alternative, the processorand the non-transitory computer-readable medium may be discretecomponents in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described herein may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media may include storagemedia and/or communication media including any non-transitory mediumthat may facilitate transferring a computer program from one place toanother. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessedby a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desiredprogram code in the form of instructions or data structures and that canbe accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed acomputer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmittedfrom a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable,fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber opticcable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared,radio, and microwave are included in the definition of a medium. Theterm disk and disc, which may be used interchangeably herein, includesCD, laser disc, optical disc, DVD, floppy disk, and Blu-ray discs, whichusually reproduce data magnetically and/or optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects, those skilledin the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications couldbe made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure asdefined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in accordance with thevarious illustrative aspects described herein, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the functions, steps, and/or actions in any methodsdescribed above and/or recited in any method claims appended hereto neednot be performed in any particular order. Further still, to the extentthat any elements are described above or recited in the appended claimsin a singular form, those skilled in the art will appreciate thatsingular form(s) contemplate the plural as well unless limitation to thesingular form(s) is explicitly stated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of performing a reliable broadcast from a source device to a plurality of nodes, comprising: establishing, by a representative node of the plurality of nodes, a first wireless communication link with each of one or more non-representative nodes of the plurality of nodes; receiving, at the representative node from each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link, information indicating an ability of the one or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications; establishing, by the representative node, a second wireless communication link with the source device; configuring, by the representative node, the second wireless link based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes; sending, by the representative node, control information for the second wireless communication link to each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link; and receiving, at the representative node, communications from the source device over the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or more non-representative nodes receive the communications from the source device by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on the control information for the second wireless communication link.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the second wireless link comprises: configuring, by the representative node, a receiver of the representative node to be representative of the plurality of nodes based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes; and requesting, by the representative node, a transmitter configuration of the source device based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein configuring the receiver to be representative of the plurality of nodes comprises adjusting a receiver sensitivity of the receiver to be representative of receiver sensitivities of the plurality of nodes.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein configuring the receiver to be representative of the plurality of nodes comprises configuring the receiver so that the representative node is the most likely node of the plurality of nodes to miss a packet of the communications from the source device over the second wireless communication link.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes comprises a receiver sensitivity of each of the one or more non-representative nodes, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) level of each of the one or more non-representative nodes, a channel map of each of the one or more non-representative nodes, or any combination thereof.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the representative node receives the information from the one or more non-representative nodes periodically.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the representative node receives the information from the one or more non-representative nodes before configuring the receiver of the representative node to be representative of the plurality of nodes and establishing the second wireless communication link.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the representative node receives the information from the one or more non-representative nodes after the source device begins transmitting the communications over the second wireless communication link.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the representative node receives the information from the one or more non-representative nodes based on a change in the information at the one or more non-representative nodes that effects the ability of the one or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the control information for the second wireless communication link comprises transport information and security information for the second wireless communication link.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the transport information comprises a frequency hopping spread (FHS) for the second wireless communication link, a modulation scheme for the second wireless communication link, a channel map for the second wireless communication link, a packet type, or any combination thereof, and the security information comprises an encryption key for the second wireless communication link.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication link comprises an encrypted low-energy point-to-point wireless communication link.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second wireless communication link comprises an encrypted low-energy point-to-point wireless communication link.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein, based on a change in the control information for the second wireless communication link, the representative node sends the changed control information for the second wireless communication link to each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link before communicating with the source device using the changed control information for the second wireless communication link.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at the representative node, a first notification from at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes indicating that the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes will not be sniffing the second wireless communication link; and in response to reception of the first notification, ceasing to listen to the second wireless communication link based on the first notification.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving, at the representative node, a second notification from the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes indicating that the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes has resumed sniffing the second wireless communication link; and in response to reception of the second notification, resuming listening to the second wireless communication link.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein: the first notification comprises a schedule of time periods during which the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes will not be sniffing the second wireless communication link, and the representative node ceases to listen to the second wireless communication link for the time periods during which the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes will not be sniffing the second wireless communication link.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein: the first notification indicates that the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes has stopped sniffing the second wireless communication link, and the representative node ceases to listen to the second wireless communication link immediately upon reception of the first notification.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nodes are located within a threshold distance of each other.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the threshold is based on the plurality of nodes having sufficiently similar wireless environment conditions that a single node of the plurality of nodes can act as the representative node.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the wireless environment conditions comprise a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and/or a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of each of the plurality of nodes.
 22. An apparatus for performing a reliable broadcast from a source device to a plurality of nodes, comprising: a transceiver of a representative node of the plurality of nodes; and at least one processor of the representative node coupled to the transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: establish a first wireless communication link with each of one or more non-representative nodes of the plurality of nodes; receive, from each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link, information indicating an ability of the one or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications; establish a second wireless communication link with the source device; configure the second wireless link based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes; send control information for the second wireless communication link to each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link; and receive communications from the source device over the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or more non-representative nodes receive the communications from the source device by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on the control information for the second wireless communication link.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor being configured to configure the second wireless link comprises the at least one processor being configured to: configure a receiver of the representative node to be representative of the plurality of nodes based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes; and request a transmitter configuration of the source device based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor being configured to configure the receiver to be representative of the plurality of nodes comprises the at least one processor being configured to adjust a receiver sensitivity of the receiver to be representative of receiver sensitivities of the plurality of nodes.
 25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor being configured to configure the receiver to be representative of the plurality of nodes comprises the at least one processor being configured to configure the receiver so that the representative node is the most likely node of the plurality of nodes to miss a packet of the communications from the source device over the second wireless communication link.
 26. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes comprises a receiver sensitivity of each of the one or more non-representative nodes, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) level of each of the one or more non-representative nodes, a channel map of each of the one or more non-representative nodes, or any combination thereof.
 27. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the representative node receives the information from the one or more non-representative nodes periodically.
 28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the representative node receives the information from the one or more non-representative nodes before configuring the receiver of the representative node to be representative of the plurality of nodes and establishing the second wireless communication link.
 29. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the representative node receives the information from the one or more non-representative nodes after the source device begins transmitting the communications over the second wireless communication link.
 30. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the representative node receives the information from the one or more non-representative nodes based on a change in the information at the one or more non-representative nodes that effects the ability of the one or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications.
 31. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the control information for the second wireless communication link comprises transport information and security information for the second wireless communication link.
 32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the transport information comprises a frequency hopping spread (FHS) for the second wireless communication link, a modulation scheme for the second wireless communication link, a channel map for the second wireless communication link, a packet type, or any combination thereof, and the security information comprises an encryption key for the second wireless communication link.
 33. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first wireless communication link comprises an encrypted low-energy point-to-point wireless communication link.
 34. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the second wireless communication link comprises an encrypted low-energy point-to-point wireless communication link.
 35. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein, based on a change in the control information for the second wireless communication link, the representative node sends the changed control information for the second wireless communication link to each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link before communicating with the source device using the changed control information for the second wireless communication link.
 36. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein: the transceiver is further configured to receive a first notification from at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes indicating that the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes will not be sniffing the second wireless communication link, and the at least one processor is further configured to cease, in response to reception of the first notification, to listen to the second wireless communication link based on the first notification.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein: the transceiver is further configured to receive a second notification from the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes indicating that the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes has resumed sniffing the second wireless communication link; and the at least one processor is further configured to resume, in response to reception of the second notification, listening to the second wireless communication link.
 38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein: the first notification comprises a schedule of time periods during which the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes will not be sniffing the second wireless communication link, and the representative node ceases to listen to the second wireless communication link for the time periods during which the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes will not be sniffing the second wireless communication link.
 39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein: the first notification indicates that the at least one of the one or more non-representative nodes has stopped sniffing the second wireless communication link, and the representative node ceases to listen to the second wireless communication link immediately upon reception of the first notification.
 40. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the plurality of nodes are located within a threshold distance of each other.
 41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the threshold is based on the plurality of nodes having sufficiently similar wireless environment conditions that a single node of the plurality of nodes can act as the representative node.
 42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the wireless environment conditions comprise a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and/or a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of each of the plurality of nodes.
 43. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing a reliable broadcast from a source device to a plurality of nodes, the computer-executable instructions comprising: at least one instruction instructing a representative node of the plurality of nodes to establish a first wireless communication link with each of one or more non-representative nodes of the plurality of nodes; at least one instruction instructing the representative node to receive, from each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link, information indicating an ability of the one or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications; at least one instruction instructing the representative node to establish a second wireless communication link with the source device; at least one instruction instructing the representative node to configure the second wireless link based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes; at least one instruction instructing the representative node to send control information for the second wireless communication link to each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link; and at least one instruction instructing the representative node to receive communications from the source device over the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or more non-representative nodes receive the communications from the source device by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on the control information for the second wireless communication link.
 44. An apparatus for performing a reliable broadcast from a source device to a plurality of nodes, comprising: a means for communicating of a representative node of the plurality of nodes; and a means for processing of the representative node coupled to the means for communicating, the means for processing configured to: establish a first wireless communication link with each of one or more non-representative nodes of the plurality of nodes; receive, from each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link, information indicating an ability of the one or more non-representative nodes to sniff wireless communications; establish a second wireless communication link with the source device; configure the second wireless link based on the information received from the one or more non-representative nodes; send control information for the second wireless communication link to each of the one or more non-representative nodes over the corresponding first wireless communication link; and receive communications from the source device over the second wireless communication link, wherein the one or more non-representative nodes receive the communications from the source device by sniffing the second wireless communication link based on the control information for the second wireless communication link. 